A&E tail coverage: the mistake that ends careers
Architects and engineers carry decades-long liability tails. Skipping or skimping on tail cover at a carrier switch is one of the costliest mistakes in the field.
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For architects, engineers & design firms
Insurance for architects & engineers.
Architecture, engineering and design firms working across commercial and residential projects.
The real risk
The questions every
owner should ask.
The owner contract requires $5M A&E E&O and named tail. Can we get there?
Yes. We bind A&E professional liability at the exact limit, tail provision and additional-insured wording your owner or general contractor requires — and turn certificates around fast enough to keep the project on programme.
Standard markets keep declining us — claim history, niche speciality, anything.
That's where we go to E&S. Boutique firms, design-build operators, firms with prior claims and accounts in unusual specialities all get pushed out of admitted markets. We work with the surplus-lines markets that price A&E on actual exposure.
We do some design-build / construction management. Does our E&O still respond?
Often only partly. A pure A&E form excludes contractor risk, and a contractor form excludes design risk. We place a hybrid programme that covers both sides — and we'll tell you exactly where the seam sits.
A claim came in three years after the project completed. Are we still covered?
Only if you've maintained continuous prior-acts cover (claims-made) or you bought tail when you switched markets. Most uninsured A&E claims arrive long after project completion — we manage tail and retro dates so the gap doesn't catch you.
Inside the cover
What a good policy
actually covers.
The areas that matter most for your kind of business — what they do, and the losses they're built to absorb.
A&E professional liability
Claims-made cover for negligence in design, engineering and consulting services — sized to your project mix and the owner contracts you're working against.
Learn about this coverGeneral liability + commercial property
Office GL, contractor's pollution liability where relevant, plus property cover for office, equipment and any contractor's equipment in your custody.
Learn about this coverCyber liability for design data
Breach response, ransomware and third-party liability covering CAD, BIM and project-data losses — the kind of cyber exposure most generalist programmes underwrite poorly.
Learn about this coverWorkers' comp & EPLI
Statutory comp for office and field staff, plus employment-practices cover for wage, harassment and discrimination claims across the firm.
Learn about this cover Why Nomos
A broker that works
the whole market.
A&E-specific markets
We work with the carriers and MGAs that have built A&E E&O products on real claims data — not just a generic 'miscellaneous professional' rate.
Owner & GC contracts, decoded
We read the project contract before you sign — limits, additional insured, waivers, tail provisions and indemnity language — and bind to the exact wording.
Tail and prior acts, managed
A&E claims arrive years after completion. We track your retro date, manage tail at carrier moves, and make sure the gap closes properly when you switch.
How it works
From first call
to bound cover.
01
Tell us about your business
A few details about what you do, your size and any contract or licensing requirements you're working against.
02
We shop the market
We compare carriers that price your kind of business well, and bring back real options side by side.
03
Bind with confidence
Choose the option that fits, get your certificate, and know exactly what's covered — with us on the line if something happens.
Best fit
Who this is
built for.
Architecture firms — small, mid-sized and boutique
Civil, structural and MEP engineering consultancies
Design-build and integrated project delivery firms
Land surveyors, geotechnical and environmental consultants
Interior designers, landscape architects and specialty design firms
From field notes
What we're writing
on this.
Get a quote
E&O that matches
the owner contract.
Tell us about your firm and the projects you're working on. We'll shop A&E-specific markets and bind to the exact limit, tail and additional-insured language your owner or GC requires.
A&E E&O sized to your project mix
Owner and GC contracts read before you sign
Tail and prior-acts handled at carrier moves
Cyber for CAD, BIM and project-data losses